This invention relates to an aquatic floatation mat or cushion providing sufficient buoyancy to permit a person to lie on the mat in water.
Aquatic mats now used for recreation and sports purposes are generally of the inflatable type. Although the inflatable types are satisfactory, they require the task of inflating them prior to use and deflating them after use. Furthermore, inflatable types can easily be punctured, ripped or torn. This will require patching, and if the tear or rip is large enough and cannot be patched, will render the mat useless.
The floatation mat of the present invention constitutes an improvement over inflatable mats by eliminating the requirement for inflation and also eliminating the problem of punctures, rips and tears.
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel aquatic mat with a headrest having a simplified construction, which is capable of floating on water, and which can support one or more persons.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel aquatic mat having a headrest wherein the entire mat is manufactured from buoyant flexible, resilient slab materials.
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel buoyant, aquatic mat having a headrest for supporting a person's head containing one or more transverse open voids, which provide additional buoyancy to the headrest.
A further object of this invention is to provide a novel buoyant aquatic mat having a headrest containing an enclosed transverse chamber or chambers.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a novel buoyant aquatic mat having a headrest containing an enclosed chamber or chambers wherein the bottom of the headrest chamber has vent holes for providing equalization of pressure in the chamber and for providing additional buoyancy to the headrest.
Generally the buoyant aquatic mat comprises an elongated, flexible, resilient, planar slab member and a headrest member containing a transverse void formed from the same material as the planar slab member. The slab material comprises a unicellular, non-water absorbent plastic foam having a tough, plastic coating over the entire surface of the slab. Several embodiments of the mat are described. Furthermore, a modification adaptable to all the embodiments of the mat comprises slab material enclosing the ends of the void of the headrest forming an air chamber. An additional modification of the headrest with enclosed chambers is the provision of vent holes disposed through the bottom of the headrest communicating with the air chamber.
Other features and advantages of the various embodiments of the aquatic mat of the invention will become apparent from the following description of specific embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings.